Missing Alabama student in Barcelona

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t track my high school or college kids here in the US, but if they were going overseas with friends I absolutely would make them have a Life360.

Also the Gracey family seems to be a lovely family of Catholic faith so I’m sure it was important to them to mention it. Dad is an attorney and Mom is a pediatrician. Jimmy was the oldest of five kids. So very sad.

Why is going abroad any different since this country is more dangerous that most of Europe? And why does it matter that dad is an attorney and mom is a pediatrician or that he was the oldest of five kids? None of that matters. His loss would have been equally sad and tragic if he were the only child of a garbage man and mom who cleaned houses. And parents like those would be just as likely to be a "lovely family of Catholic faith."

PP here.

I do not think going overseas to most places is more inherently dangerous. However there can be language barriers and generally more unfamiliarity, which, I get, is part of the brain development and problem solving involved in overseas travel. I don't think Life360 would necessarily make them safer but it would give me more peace of mind and could help in a pinch.

As for my description of the family, I was responding in general to posters who questioned why the family statement chose to describe him in the way they did, especially the Catholic part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t track my high school or college kids here in the US, but if they were going overseas with friends I absolutely would make them have a Life360.

Also the Gracey family seems to be a lovely family of Catholic faith so I’m sure it was important to them to mention it. Dad is an attorney and Mom is a pediatrician. Jimmy was the oldest of five kids. So very sad.

Why is going abroad any different since this country is more dangerous that most of Europe? And why does it matter that dad is an attorney and mom is a pediatrician or that he was the oldest of five kids? None of that matters. His loss would have been equally sad and tragic if he were the only child of a garbage man and mom who cleaned houses. And parents like those would be just as likely to be a "lovely family of Catholic faith."

I am laughing at you at this point. You have a agenda you are trying to make using the tragic death of a great kid to score pathetic transparent political points. So bitter. So mentally off kilter. Your life must be so sad.

Pro tip- if you do have kids (which I doubt) they are communicating solely on Snapchat now, texting is dead and they track every person they’ve ever met and those kids track them too. Everyone is being tracked. Teens are still teens though and will still make stupid mistakes! The world has changed since 1960. Catch up.

Bless you.

I'm not talking about the poor kid at all. I certainly agree that it's just tragic. I'm simply calling you out for valuing one human life over another because of social class. And you deserve to hear it. What his parents do for a living is of absolutely zero relevance.

Hey so that was me you were responding to, not this person you quoted. My post had nothing to with valuing one life over another. However, I do feel - like many of us here I think - a great deal of sympathy for this family and mother because many of us are probably in a similar place in life with kids of similar ages and situations and having the same fears.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t track my high school or college kids here in the US, but if they were going overseas with friends I absolutely would make them have a Life360.

Also the Gracey family seems to be a lovely family of Catholic faith so I’m sure it was important to them to mention it. Dad is an attorney and Mom is a pediatrician. Jimmy was the oldest of five kids. So very sad.

Why is going abroad any different since this country is more dangerous that most of Europe? And why does it matter that dad is an attorney and mom is a pediatrician or that he was the oldest of five kids? None of that matters. His loss would have been equally sad and tragic if he were the only child of a garbage man and mom who cleaned houses. And parents like those would be just as likely to be a "lovely family of Catholic faith."

I am laughing at you at this point. You have a agenda you are trying to make using the tragic death of a great kid to score pathetic transparent political points. So bitter. So mentally off kilter. Your life must be so sad.

Pro tip- if you do have kids (which I doubt) they are communicating solely on Snapchat now, texting is dead and they track every person they’ve ever met and those kids track them too. Everyone is being tracked. Teens are still teens though and will still make stupid mistakes! The world has changed since 1960. Catch up.

Bless you.

I'm not talking about the poor kid at all. I certainly agree that it's just tragic. I'm simply calling you out for valuing one human life over another because of social class. And you deserve to hear it. What his parents do for a living is of absolutely zero relevance.

I don’t deserve to hear anything. Not once have I brought up what class or what Gracey’s parents do for a living. I’m here talking about safety. I just know he’s a college kid and I have a college kid. In fact I had no idea what his parents did before this thread and it doesn’t move the meter. They could be homeless and he could have been at Bama on a full ride. What does that matter? You and maybe one other are the ones making an issue of class, race, technology, neighborhoods, parenting any divisive issue you can throw at the death of this poor child. It’s tragic no matter what. I don’t think anyone on this thread valued his life more than any other life. But he’s the one we are talking about and hurting for because he sadly is the actual topic here. You are making things up in your head because you have an agenda and you are using this child’s death as a medium to inject it into the conversation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are reports that another male American student had left the same club weeks earlier and woke up on the beach with his hands tied, badly beaten, and robbed. He’s facing multiple surgeries due to injury.

While my family and I have traveled extensively, I don’t think I have any desire to return to Barcelona. The locals hate tourists due to the impact of Airbnbs on housing costs, they have a high poverty rate and assume tourists are rich, and with the influx of migrants who hate America it just seems risky.

There are better places to visit and and study abroad.

I suspect we will hear about more incidents now that people are curious.

I read about this online. They are all juniors from American universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t track my high school or college kids here in the US, but if they were going overseas with friends I absolutely would make them have a Life360.

Also the Gracey family seems to be a lovely family of Catholic faith so I’m sure it was important to them to mention it. Dad is an attorney and Mom is a pediatrician. Jimmy was the oldest of five kids. So very sad.

Why is going abroad any different since this country is more dangerous that most of Europe? And why does it matter that dad is an attorney and mom is a pediatrician or that he was the oldest of five kids? None of that matters. His loss would have been equally sad and tragic if he were the only child of a garbage man and mom who cleaned houses. And parents like those would be just as likely to be a "lovely family of Catholic faith."

I am laughing at you at this point. You have a agenda you are trying to make using the tragic death of a great kid to score pathetic transparent political points. So bitter. So mentally off kilter. Your life must be so sad.

Pro tip- if you do have kids (which I doubt) they are communicating solely on Snapchat now, texting is dead and they track every person they’ve ever met and those kids track them too. Everyone is being tracked. Teens are still teens though and will still make stupid mistakes! The world has changed since 1960. Catch up.

Bless you.

I'm not talking about the poor kid at all. I certainly agree that it's just tragic. I'm simply calling you out for valuing one human life over another because of social class. And you deserve to hear it. What his parents do for a living is of absolutely zero relevance.

I don’t deserve to hear anything. Not once have I brought up what class or what Gracey’s parents do for a living. I’m here talking about safety. I just know he’s a college kid and I have a college kid. In fact I had no idea what his parents did before this thread and it doesn’t move the meter. They could be homeless and he could have been at Bama on a full ride. What does that matter? You and maybe one other are the ones making an issue of class, race, technology, neighborhoods, parenting any divisive issue you can throw at the death of this poor child. It’s tragic no matter what. I don’t think anyone on this thread valued his life more than any other life. But he’s the one we are talking about and hurting for because he sadly is the actual topic here. You are making things up in your head because you have an agenda and you are using this child’s death as a medium to inject it into the conversation.

+1 most definitely

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My point is that back in the day nobody had phones. And everybody was fine.

No everybody was NOT fine.

+1

Yes, we were. I was, my spouse was, and three of my kids who studied abroad a generation later also were fine.

Everyone was fine and safe... pre-EU and pre-open borders when Europe was like 99% native-born? The tourist hotspots are beyond gone at this point thanks to open borders and soft on crime policies.

Hasn’t the pickpocketing thing been a problem long before the increased immigration?

Yes, when we were studying in Madrid decades ago and traveled by train to Italy one of us was pickpocketed at the station in Barcelona. It's long been a problem.

Barcelona crime is so much worse than Madrid. The police do not care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My point is that back in the day nobody had phones. And everybody was fine.

No everybody was NOT fine.

+1

Yes, we were. I was, my spouse was, and three of my kids who studied abroad a generation later also were fine.

Everyone was fine and safe... pre-EU and pre-open borders when Europe was like 99% native-born? The tourist hotspots are beyond gone at this point thanks to open borders and soft on crime policies.

Hasn’t the pickpocketing thing been a problem long before the increased immigration?

Yes, when we were studying in Madrid decades ago and traveled by train to Italy one of us was pickpocketed at the station in Barcelona. It's long been a problem.

Barcelona crime is so much worse than Madrid. The police do not care.

+1 especially in crowded beach areas

[Anonymous]

I have only been to Barcelona once. It was about 20 years ago for a few nights before and after a cruise. I didn't really get good vibes. I know the kids love it though. Very sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are reports that another male American student had left the same club weeks earlier and woke up on the beach with his hands tied, badly beaten, and robbed. He’s facing multiple surgeries due to injury.

While my family and I have traveled extensively, I don’t think I have any desire to return to Barcelona. The locals hate tourists due to the impact of Airbnbs on housing costs, they have a high poverty rate and assume tourists are rich, and with the influx of migrants who hate America it just seems risky.

There are better places to visit and and study abroad.

I suspect we will hear about more incidents now that people are curious.

I read about this online. They are all juniors from American universities.

Junior year is the year American kids traditionally travel abroad. Although now universities are sending kids right out of high school to abroad programs first Fall Semester and then Spring entry on campus so that they can cram more kids on campus due to limited dorm space. So lots of these kids are brand new high school grads too. Barcelona is dangerous. So is Rome Paris and anywhere in Germany. Madrid, Florence, Scotland, anywhere in Japan, Prague, London, Dublin, Switzerland are the safest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are reports that another male American student had left the same club weeks earlier and woke up on the beach with his hands tied, badly beaten, and robbed. He’s facing multiple surgeries due to injury.

While my family and I have traveled extensively, I don’t think I have any desire to return to Barcelona. The locals hate tourists due to the impact of Airbnbs on housing costs, they have a high poverty rate and assume tourists are rich, and with the influx of migrants who hate America it just seems risky.

There are better places to visit and and study abroad.

I suspect we will hear about more incidents now that people are curious.

I read about this online. They are all juniors from American universities.

Junior year is the year American kids traditionally travel abroad. Although now universities are sending kids right out of high school to abroad programs first Fall Semester and then Spring entry on campus so that they can cram more kids on campus due to limited dorm space. So lots of these kids are brand new high school grads too. Barcelona is dangerous. So is Rome Paris and anywhere in Germany. Madrid, Florence, Scotland, anywhere in Japan, Prague, London, Dublin, Switzerland are the safest.

It’s probably more dangerous intoxicated at 3am than sober at 3pm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was in my 20s, I travelled the world solo for a year. Took a year off and spent it backpacking - and on a tight budget. (I am a woman). No tech, no phone, no laptop, no tablet, no gps, no internet, nothing. The only thing I had was my first digital camera that I had bought for the trip.

Every ten days or so I would find an internet cafe and send my family a message saying where I was and what countries or cities I was planning to head to next. This was the 1990s and no one thought much of this.

One of the best years of my life.

Yes, and no one else did this in the 1990s.

I don't think that was the poster's point. I think the point was the poster survived and thrived without constant surveillance by anxious parents. It can be done.

Or she was lucky. Statistically only a small % of people are crime victims in most countries. Crimes have always been around, any of us can be a victim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My point is that back in the day nobody had phones. And everybody was fine.

No everybody was NOT fine.

+1

Yes, we were. I was, my spouse was, and three of my kids who studied abroad a generation later also were fine.

Everyone was fine and safe... pre-EU and pre-open borders when Europe was like 99% native-born? The tourist hotspots are beyond gone at this point thanks to open borders and soft on crime policies.

Hasn’t the pickpocketing thing been a problem long before the increased immigration?

Yes, when we were studying in Madrid decades ago and traveled by train to Italy one of us was pickpocketed at the station in Barcelona. It's long been a problem.

Barcelona crime is so much worse than Madrid. The police do not care.

When I was there 2 years ago, all local women carried their purses in front of them, around their neck. Apparently grab and run was a thing.

[Anonymous]

Lot of pearl clutching on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was in my 20s, I travelled the world solo for a year. Took a year off and spent it backpacking - and on a tight budget. (I am a woman). No tech, no phone, no laptop, no tablet, no gps, no internet, nothing. The only thing I had was my first digital camera that I had bought for the trip.

Every ten days or so I would find an internet cafe and send my family a message saying where I was and what countries or cities I was planning to head to next. This was the 1990s and no one thought much of this.

One of the best years of my life.

Yes, and no one else did this in the 1990s. :roll:

I don't think that was the poster's point. I think the point was the poster survived and thrived without constant surveillance by anxious parents. It can be done.

I mean my grandpa was born in 1930 and didn’t get vaccinated for anything and he didn’t die, he still got vaccines when the became available tho.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was in my 20s, I travelled the world solo for a year. Took a year off and spent it backpacking - and on a tight budget. (I am a woman). No tech, no phone, no laptop, no tablet, no gps, no internet, nothing. The only thing I had was my first digital camera that I had bought for the trip.

Every ten days or so I would find an internet cafe and send my family a message saying where I was and what countries or cities I was planning to head to next. This was the 1990s and no one thought much of this.

One of the best years of my life.

Yes, and no one else did this in the 1990s. :roll:

I don't think that was the poster's point. I think the point was the poster survived and thrived without constant surveillance by anxious parents. It can be done.

I mean my grandpa was born in 1930 and didn’t get vaccinated for anything and he didn’t die, he still got vaccines when the became available tho.

Not a good analogy, sorry.

Having a cell phone and checking in regularly is one thing. Tracking your student at all times is another.